4 Answers
4

Snipping tool comes with every Windows from Vista to above† and has about the same options as Grab + Preview combo on OS X; including annotating capabilities.

While I was on XP (or on Vista not knowing the existence of Snipping tool) I've found Lightscreen as an easy, simple and lightweight capture tool. In matter of a fact, I carry a portable version of Lightscreen on my USB-stick, just in case. Lightscreen lacks annotating options, though.

I usually end up doing Shift + "Print Screen" (usually same button as "SysRq"). Open Paint / Photoshop / etc. and paste it into a new file. Doesn't let you select areas of the screen but I usually refine the edges in Photoshop anyway. Also, it's free since it's built into Windows.

At work they installed Snagit which I am strongly considering getting for home. Although I've always relied on the good ol' Printscreen+paste in Photoshop approach before, it is really convenient to have some image editing capabilities (cropping, drawing semi-transparent highlights, etc.) in the screenshot software.